10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Sept 24)

2. Dusty Rhodes Thought DDP Phone Audition Was A Recorded Promo

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WWE.com

Nowadays, Diamond Dallas Page inspires many with his yoga workouts and general positivity, but there was a time when the man just wanted to break into the upper echelons of pro wrestling. Working for the soon-to-be-defunct AWA, Page was on the phone with Mike Graham and spoke about his desire to work for WCW.

Much to DDP's bemusement, Graham was sitting with the 'American Dream' Dusty Rhodes, who was just about to return to WCW himself. Despite Page begging him not to, Graham put Rhodes on and said there was a young man who wished to speak with him. This is a story told by Page on Sean Walkman's X-Pac 1, 2, 360 podcast.

Suffering from strep throat, DDP honed his husky promo style over the phone to Dusty. He did so by simply imitating the Dream for around 45 minutes, leading to Rhodes enquiring whether or not the call was a recorded one.

When he found out that DDP had effectively freestyled for close to an hour, Rhodes decided he'd like to give Page a shot as a manager.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.